Kyoto Boom is a tight little rock outfit from Little Rock, Arkansas. Scotty Cook plays bass and sings and plays keyboards. He used to lead The Kicks, and before that, Ashtray Babyhead. Duke was the drummer in the prog/pop/epic/proto/mathy/wall-of-sound band BE. Dave is just a good old boy from Texas who did some pickin' for Mulehead. It's a diverse mix that just works. Listen.

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From the Arkansas Times Musicians Showcase Finals

In the last spot, Kyoto Boom continued to demonstrate why it's the most impressive new band Little Rock's seen in years. The band's crystalline post-punk was rousing, precise and huge. Lead singer Scott Cook poured himself into his lyrics.

From the Arkansas Times Musicians Showcase Semi-Finals

From the Arkansas Times Musicians Showcase

Kyoto Boom put on as strong of a show as I've seen in a long time in the second slot. (A reminder: My opinion doesn't factor in at all to the judging.) I think you'd be hard-pressed to point to a local lead man with stronger vocals or more charisma than Scott Cook. Or someone who can play 1/8 notes on bass with one hand and keyboard with the other. All the dudes in the band are vets of awesome local bands of days gone by, and it shows on stage. They're tight and polished and they play with a lot of swagger and energy. Far from the alt-country-ish work he put in with Mulehead, Dave Raymond uses his guitar percussively, shreds occasionally and sometimes goes full-tilt skronk, all within the confines of the song. Never too showy or tiresome. Duke Boyne kicks out precision beats. There's a long history of post-punk revival bands in Little Rock. Few, if any, have been as broadly appealing as Kyoto Boom.